Part II European Union: Free movement of European

citizens within the Union. Schengen Area

• Introduction

• Free Movement of European Citizens within the EU

• Schengen Area
Introduction
 The objectives of the Union

Art. 3.2 TEU:

• Offering an area of freedom, security and justice without

internal frontiers;

• Free movement of persons is ensured in conjunction with

appropriate measures with respect to external border controls,
asylum, inmigration and the prevention and combating of
crime;

who can enjoy this freedom??

Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

Introduction
• Free movement is one of the four freedoms enjoyed by EU
citizens..
• This includes the rights of movement and residence for
workers, the rights of entry and residence for family
members, and the right to work in another Member State and
be treated on an equal footing with nationals of that Member
State.
• Restrictions apply for the public service.
• European Labour Authority (ELA):
– agency for the free movement of workers, including posted workers. 20
June 2019 (Regulation (EU) 2019/1149. September 2021 ELA has its
permanent seat in Bratislava, Slovakia.
– 2024: EP: resolution of 18 January 2024 on the revision of the ELA
mandate
Free movement of Workers

• Freedom of movement for workers has been one of the founding

principles of the EU since its outset
• Legal basis:
– Art. 3.2 TEU
– Articles 4.2.a 20, 26 and 45-48 TFEU

• It is a fundamental right of workers, complementing the free movement of

goods, capital and services within the European single market.
• It means that any discrimination based on nationality as regards
employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment
is prohibited.
• EU workers also have the right to accept a job offer made in another EU
country, to move freely within the country, to stay for the purpose of
employment and to stay on afterwards under certain conditions.
 Free movement of Workers
Article 45 TFEU
1. Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union.
2. Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based
on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment,
remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.
3. It shall entail the right, subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy,
public security or public health:
(a) to accept offers of employment actually made;
(b) to move freely within the territory of Member States for this purpose;
(c) to stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the
provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation
or administrative action;
(d) to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State,
subject to conditions which shall be embodied in regulations to be drawn up by the
Commission.
4. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to employment in the public service.
 Free movement of Workers
• The founding regulation on freedom of movement of workers (Regulation
1612/68) and the complementing directive on the abolition of restrictions
on movement and residence (Council Directive 68/360) have been
modernised several times.
• Currently, the key EU provisions are:

- Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 on free movement for workers,

- Directive 2014/54/EU on measures facilitating the exercise of rights
conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 establishing a European Labour Authority.

• Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of movement and residence

 Free movement of Workers
Workers’ rights of movement and residence
• Directive 2004/38/EC introduced EU citizenship as the basic status for nationals of the
Member States when they exercise their right to move and reside freely in EU territory.
• Directive family reunification
Employment
• Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 lays down rules for employment, equal treatment and
workers’ families.
• Any national of a Member State has the right to seek employment in another Member State
in line with the relevant regulations applicable to national workers. Member States are not
allowed to apply any discriminatory practices, such as limiting job offers to nationals or
requiring language skills going beyond what is reasonable and necessary for the job in
question.
• A mobile worker is entitled to receive the same assistance from the national employment
office as nationals of the host Member State, and also has the right to stay in the host
country for a period long enough to look for work, apply for a job and be recruited.
• This right applies equally to all workers, whether they are on permanent contracts, are
employed as seasonal or cross-border workers, or provide services.
• These rules do not apply to posted workers. Posted workers are protected by the Posting
of Workers Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/957 amending Directive 96/71/EC
 Free movement of Workers
working and employment conditions in the territory of the host Member State,
• nationals of one Member State working in another have the same social and tax benefits
and access to housing as national workers.
• they are entitled to equal treatment in respect of the exercise of trade union rights.

Anti-discrimination rules apply also to the children of a mobile worker.

• Member States should encourage these children to attend education and vocational training
in order to facilitate their integration.

Finally, Article 35 of Directive 2004/38/EC expressly grants Member States the power, in the
event of abuse or fraud, to withdraw any right conferred by the directive.
a Member State to refuse an EU national the right of entry or residence on the grounds of
public policy, public security or public health. Such measures must be based on the personal
conduct of the individual concerned, which must represent a sufficiently serious and present
threat to the fundamental interests of the state.
Free movement of Workers: ELA Activities
Free movement of Workers
• Nationals of EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
and Switzerland) have the right to work in the EU with the
same rights and obligations as EU workers.
• The EU also has special agreements with other non-EU
countries.
– Nationals of these countries, who are working legally in the European
Union, are entitled to the same working conditions as the nationals of
their host country:
• Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Russia
• Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Serbia, Ukraine
• Andorra, San Marino and 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and
Pacific Group of States

• ¿
Free movement of Workers
• For nationals of other countries – that have no agreement with the EU –
the right to work in an EU country mainly depends on the laws of that
country, unless they are members of an EU national's family.

• However, EU rules do cover the following areas for workers from all
non-EU countries:
– non-EU nationals who are long-term residents in the EU
– the right to family reunification
– admission for non-EU researchers
– admission for students, exchange pupils, unpaid training or voluntary service
– the rights of highly-skilled workers from outside the EU (EU blue card scheme)
– simplified entry procedures and rights for all non-EU migrant workers
– conditions of entry and residence of seasonal workers from non-EU countries
– conditions of entry and residence of non-EU nationals in the framework of an intra-
corporate transfer.
Free movement of persons
• Everyone can enjoy the freedom of free movement of
persons? Who can?
 European Union citizens (Art. 20 TFEU: every person holding the
nationality of a Member State is a citizen of the Union)

 Art. 21.1 TFEU: “Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move
and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to
the limitations and conditions laid down in the Treaties and by the
measures adopted to give them effect”. Essential freedom in the
European Integration
 Three different situations:
 Right to move within 3 months
 Right to reside longer than 3 months
 Permanent residency right

Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

Free movement of European citizens within the Union

• European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of

29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and
their family members to move and reside freely within the
territory of the Member States

• General provisions

– the conditions in which Union citizens, and their families, to exercise

their right to move and reside freely within the Member States;
– the right of permanent residence;
– restrictions on the aforementioned rights on grounds of public policy,
public security or public health
Free movement of European citizens within the Union
Right to move and right of residence for up to three months

• All Union citizens have the right to enter another Member State by virtue of having
an identity card or valid passport. Under no circumstances can an entry or exit
visa be required. Where the citizens concerned do not have travel documents, the
host Member State must afford them every reasonable means in obtaining the
requisite documents or having them sent.

• Family members who do not have the nationality of a Member State enjoy the
same rights as the citizen who they have accompanied. They may be subject to
a short-stay visa requirement. Residence permits will be deemed equivalent to
short-stay visas.

• For stays of less than three months, the only requirement on Union citizens
is that they possess a valid identity document or passport. The host Member
State may require the persons concerned to register their presence in the country
within a reasonable and non-discriminatory period of time.
Free movement of European citizens within the Union
Right of residence for more than three months

• remains subject to certain conditions.

• Applicants must:

– either be engaged in economic activity (on an employed or self-employed basis);

– or have sufficient resources and sickness insurance ;
– or be following vocational training as a student and have sufficient resources and
sickness insurance to ensure that they do not become a burden on the social services of
the host Member State during their stay;
– or be a family member of a Union citizen who falls into one of the above categories.

• Residence permits are abolished for Union citizens.

– However, Member States may require them to register with the competent authorities
within a period of not less than three months as from the date of arrival. Proof of
registration will be issued immediately on presentation of an identity card or valid
passport;
Free movement of European citizens within the Union
Right of residence for more than three months

• Family members of Union citizens who are not nationals of a Member

State must apply for a residence permit for family members of Union
citizens.

– These permits are valid for five years from their date of issue.

• Under certain conditions the death of the Union citizen, his or her
departure from the host Member State, divorce, annulment of marriage or
termination of partnership does not affect the right of family members who
are not nationals of a Member State to continue residing in the Member
State in question.
Free movement of European citizens within the Union

Right of permanent residence

• after a five-year period of uninterrupted legal residence,

provided that an expulsion decision has not been enforced
against them.

• This right of permanent residence is no longer subject to any

conditions.

• The same rule applies to family members who are not

nationals of a Member State and who have lived with a Union
citizen for five years.
• .
Free movement of European citizens within the Union

Right of permanent residence

• The right of permanent residence is lost only in the event of

more than two successive years' absence from the host
Member State.

• Union citizens who so request receive a document certifying

their right to permanent residence.

• The Member States issue to third country family members permanent

residence permits which are valid indefinitely and renewable automatically
every ten years no later than six months after the application is made.

• Citizens can use any form of evidence generally accepted in the host
Member State to prove that they have been continuously resident.
Free movement of European citizens within the Union

Restrictions on the right of entry and the right of residence

on grounds of public policy, public security or public
health

• Union citizens or members of their family may be expelled

from the host Member State on grounds of public policy,
public security or public health.

• Under no circumstances may an expulsion decision be taken

on economic grounds.
Free movement of European citizens within the Union

Restrictions on the right of entry and the right of residence

on grounds of public policy, public security or public
health
• Measures affecting freedom of movement and residence must
comply with the proportionality principle and be based
exclusively on the personal conduct of the individual
concerned. Such conduct must represent a sufficiently serious and
present threat which affects the fundamental interests of the state.

• Previous criminal convictions do not automatically justify

expulsion. The mere fact that the entry documents used by the individual
concerned have expired does not constitute grounds for such a measure.
Free movement of European citizens within the Union

Restrictions on the right of entry and the right of residence on grounds

of public policy, public security or public health

• The person concerned by a decision refusing leave to enter or reside in a

Member State must be notified of that decision under conditions enabling
him to understand its content and effects.

• The grounds for the decision must be given and the person concerned
must be informed of the appeal procedures available to them.

• Except in emergencies, the subject of such decisions must be allowed at

least one month in which to leave the Member State.

• Lifelong exclusion orders cannot be issued under any circumstances.

• Persons concerned by exclusion orders can apply for the situation to be

reviewed after three years.
Free movement EU Schengen Area
• The free movement of persons within EU applies
primarily in the Schengen Area.

• This area includes most EU member states as well as

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

• Within the Schengen Area, internal border controls have been

abolished, allowing people to travel freely with just an identity
card or passport

Ángeles Cano Linares

Free movement EU: Schengen Area
• Rome (1957) Activity outside the EC Treaty:
Schengen Cooperation:
• Maastricht (1992)
 Intergovernmental cooperation
• Amsterdam (1999)  Agreement 1985
- European Council  Implementing convention 1990
 Abolishment of internal border
Tampere (1999) controls
- European Council The  Organization of external
border controls
Hague (2004)  Visa policy
• Nice (2001)  Asylum policy

• Constitutional Treaty
• Lisbon (2007)
Ángeles Cano Linares
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area
• Originally, the concept of free movement was to enable the
European working population to freely travel and settle in any
EU State, but it fell short of abolishing border controls within
the Union. Rome Treaty 1957

• A break-through came in 1985 when cooperation between

individual governments led to the signing, in Schengen of the
Agreement on the gradual abolition of checks at common
borders, followed by the signing in 1990 of the Convention
implementing that Agreement.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
Schengen Cooperation:
 Intergovernmental cooperation: Schengen Agreement 14 June1985
 5 of the then 10 EEC Members: France, Germany, Belgium,
Luxemburgo and Neetherlands

 Implementing Convention 1990: which proposed the abolition of

internal border controls and a common visa policy.
 The Agreement and the Convention and the rules adopted under them
were entirely separate from the EC structures, and led to the creation
of the Schengen Area on 26 March 1990. It entered into force 26
march de 1995
 Abolishment of internal border controls
 Organization of external border controls
 Visa policy
 Asylum policy

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• The implementation of the Schengen Agreements started in
1995, initially involving seven EU States.

• Born as an intergovernmental initiative, the developments

brought about by the Schengen Agreements have now been
incorporated into the body of rules governing the EU.

• Today, the Schengen Area encompasses most EU States,

except for Cyprus and Ireland. Special situation Bulgaria
Rumania
• Of non-EU States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and
Liechtenstein have joined the Schengen Area.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• Bulgaria, Romania are currently in the process of joining the
Schengen Area

• On 31 March 2024, Bulgaria and Romania become Schengen

members:
• the Schengen rules will apply in both Member States including
on issuing Schengen visas and controls at the internal air
and sea borders will be lifted.
• The Council will need to take a decision to establish a date for
the lifting of checks at internal land borders between Bulgaria,
Romania and the other Schengen countries. that a decision
on land ¿2024?

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area Border Management
• Legal basis Articles 67 and 77 TFEU.

• Objectives
– A single area without internal border checks — the
Schengen Area — requires a common policy on external
border management. The Union therefore sets out to
establish common standards with regard to controls at its
external borders and to gradually put in place an integrated
system for the management of those borders.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• Schengen area covers over 4 million square kilometres with a population of almost
420 million people, and includes 29 countries:

– 25 of the 27 EU member states

– all members of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
• On 1 January 2023, Croatia became the 27th country to fully join the Schengen
area. ​
• On 30 December 2023 the Council agreed to lift the air and sea internal border
controls with Bulgaria and Romania. Both member states fully apply the Schengen
acquis from 31 March 2024. From that date onwards controls at internal air and
sea borders will be lifted. Following this first step, a further decision should be
taken by the Council to establish a date for the lifting of checks at internal land
borders.
• Controls at the internal borders with Cyprus have not yet been lifted, and
Ireland is not part of the Schengen area.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area
• To join the Schengen area, the Schengen states have had to
fulfil a list of pre-conditions. They must:

– apply the common set of Schengen rules (the so-called ‘Schengen

acquis’), e.g. regarding border controls, visa issuance, police
cooperation and protection of personal data
– take responsibility for controlling the external borders on behalf of other
Schengen countries and for issuing uniform Schengen visas
– efficiently cooperate with law enforcement agencies in other Schengen
countries so as to maintain a high level of security once internal border
controls have been abolished
– connect to and use the Schengen Information System (SIS)

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
A secure area
• improved systems of communication between police forces:; To ensure
security within the border-free area, Schengen states exchange information to
tackle organized cross-border crime and terrorism.
• They have increased police cooperation, in particular through hot pursuit, cross-
border surveillance, the establishment of joint police centers and teams, as well as
the use of the SIS.
• Hot pursuit allows police officers from one Schengen state who catch criminals in
the act of committing serious offences o pursue the perpetrators across the border
and detain them on the territory of another Schengen state.
• Cross-border surveillance allows police officers to continue their surveillance of
suspected criminals even across the Schengen area’s internal borders.
• mutual operational assistance and direct exchanges of information between
police authorities
This is an enormous advantage in the fight against terrorism and against serious and
organised crime, including trafficking in human beings and illegal migration.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: reintroduction internal controls
Schengen rules allow national authorities to exceptionally
and temporarily reintroduce internal border controls in case
of a serious threat to security or of serious deficiencies at the
external border that can put the overall functioning of the
Schengen area at risk.
Several EU countries decided to reintroduce internal border controls
between 2020 and 2022 in the context of COVID-19. Controls have also
been reintroduced in other circumstances, including in 2015, following
terrorist attacks or the increase of migration flows into the EU.

The reintroduction of internal border controls should only take

place as a last-resort option.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: internal controls
• The Schengen Borders Code (SBC) provides Member
States with the capability of temporarily reintroducing border
control at the internal borders in the event of a serious threat
to public policy or internal security.
• The reintroduction of border control at the internal borders
must be applied as a last resort measure, in exceptional
situations, and must respect the principle of proportionality.
• The duration of such a temporary reintroduction of border
control at the internal borders is limited in time, depending
on the legal basis invoked by the Member State introducing
such border control.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: internal controls
• The scope and duration of reintroduced border control should
be restricted to the bare minimum needed to respond to the
threat in question.

• The reintroduction of border control is a prerogative of

the Member States.
• The Commission may issue an opinion regarding the
necessity of the measure and its proportionality but cannot
veto a Member State’s decision to reintroduce border control.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: internal controls
Foreseeable cases (Article 25 and 26 of the codified SBC)
• For foreseeable events (e.g. sports events), the duration of
the border control is limited to 30 days or for the foreseeable
duration of the threat, if it exceeds 30 days.
• If required, the reintroduction of border control can be
prolonged for renewable periods of up to 30 days.
• The total period shall not exceed 6 months.
• The Member State shall notify the Commission and other
Member States at least 4 weeks before the planned
reintroduction of border control.
• An exception of this notification period is made, if the
circumstances giving rise to reintroduced border control
become known at a shorter notice.
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area: internal controls
Cases requiring immediate action (Article 28 of the codified
SBC)
• Where immediate action needs to be taken to adequately
respond to a threat, a Member State may reintroduce border
control for 10 days without prior notification.

• The Commission and the Member States must be informed of

such decisions immediately.

• While the reintroduction can be prolonged for periods of up to

20 days, the overall period of border control shall not exceed
2 months.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: internal controls
Cases where exceptional circumstances put the overall
functioning of the Schengen area at risk (Article 29 of the
codified SBC)
– In exceptional circumstances, where the overall functioning of the
Schengen Area is put at risk as a result of persistent serious
deficiencies relating to external border control, and insofar as those
circumstances constitute a serious threat to public policy or internal
security, the Council may, based on a proposal from the
Commission, recommend that one or more Member States decide to
reintroduce border control at all or at specific parts of their internal
borders.
– Such a recommendation shall only be made as a last resort and as a
measure to protect the common interests within the Schengen Area,
where all other measures, in particular those referred to in Article 21 of
the Schengen Borders Code, are ineffective in mitigating the serious
threat identified.
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area: External Borders
• An area with a common external border
Border crossing
• The abolition of internal border controls cannot come at the
expense of security. Since no checks are carried out at the
borders between Schengen states, EU States have decided
to join forces to attain the dual objective of improving security
through more efficient external border controls, while
facilitating access of those having a legitimate interest to enter
the EU territory.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area: External Borders
• An area with a common external border
A single set of rules for external border checks on persons
• The Schengen Borders Code governs the crossing of the
external border, facilitating access for those who have a
legitimate interest to enter into the EU.
• A special Local Border Traffic Regime has also been
established to facilitate entry for non-EU border residents who
frequently need to cross the EU external border.
• A common visa policy further facilitates the entry of legal
visitors into the EU.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
Border crossing. Harmonising rules and procedures
• The Schengen Borders Code provides EU States with a single set of
common rules that govern external border checks on persons, entry
requirements and duration of stays in the Schengen Area. By harmonising
these rules, the EU seeks to render them more efficient, whilst increasing
their transparency.

• Similarly, through the Visa Code, EU States have harmonised conditions

and procedures for issuing short-stay visas (i.e. visas for stays that do not
exceed three months). They have also established a list of countries (Regulation
(EC) No 539/2001) whose citizens are subject to a visa requirement when entering
the EU and a list of countries for which this requirement is waived (long-stay visas
and residence permits for visits exceeding three months remain subject to national
conditions).

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules
governing the movement of persons across borders
(Schengen Borders Code) (codification)
May 2024
Council adopts update of Schengen Borders Code
final approval to a new Schengen Borders Code, the EU’s
rulebook that deals with the management of internal and
external borders as well as the rules governing border control of
persons crossing the external EU borders.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
The reform is instrumental in making the Schengen area more
resilient to present and future crises at its external borders.
It makes also sure that people living and travelling in the EU can
fully enjoy the benefits of borderless travel.
The regulation introduces the possibility to adopt EU-wide
measures that restrict the access of third-country nationals
to the EU in the event of a large-scale public health
emergency.
It also puts in place a transfer procedure that will help tackle
the secondary movement of migrants and faces situations of
instrumentalisation of migration.
Clarifications to the rules about the reintroduction of border controls will
ensure they remain a measure of last resort.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• In the event of a large-scale public health emergency the
new rules grant the possibility – following a Council
decision – to put in place harmonised temporary travel
restrictions at the EU’s external border.
– During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU was only able
to issue non-binding recommendations as regards
travel restrictions to member states. In addition to
travel restrictions, the Council can also impose testing,
quarantine and self-isolation and other health related
measures for non-EU citizens entering the EU.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• In order to fight the instrumentalisation of migration the amended
Schengen Borders Code offers member states the possibility to
limit the number of border crossing points or reduce their opening
hours and allows for enhanced border surveillance measures.

• The revised Schengen Borders Code clarifies the existing

framework for the reintroduction and prolongation of internal
border controls, which is possible when there is a serious threat to
public policy or internal security.
• Member states will need to assess the necessity and
proportionality of this decision and assess whether the objectives
pursued cannot be attained by other means.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• The revised regulation sets out the maximum duration during which these
controls at the internal borders may be maintained. Internal border controls
which have been notified to the Commission, member states and the European
Parliament before being reintroduced may remain in place for a maximum
duration of two years.
• In major exceptional situations, internal border controls may be prolonged by 6
additional months, renewable once for a total duration of one year.
• The possibility to use alternative measures, typically consisting of police checks
and cross-border cooperation, should encourage member states to substantially
limit the reintroduction of temporary border controls. These measures must be
clearly distinct from systematic checks on persons at external borders.
• Additionally, a new transfer procedure will allow a member state to transfer
third-country nationals apprehended in the border area and staying illegally in its
territory to the member state from which they arrived directly. The
apprehension should take place in the context of a bilateral cooperation
framework. Arte 26 a
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area
Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 amending Regulation
(EU) 2016/399 on a Union Code on the rules
governing the movement of persons across
borders

Publication date 20/06/2024

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing the EU’s Visa Code; Consolidated
text: Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 20 December 2006 on the establishment, operation and use of the
second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)
It sets out procedures and conditions for issuing short-stay visas for visits to the
Schengen area of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.
It also sets out rules on airport transit visas.
• The European Union (EU) Member State that is the sole or main destination of the
visit is responsible for examining the visa application. If the main destination
cannot be determined, it becomes the responsibility of the country of first entry into
the Schengen area.
• A uniform visa (valid for the whole Schengen area) may be for multiple entries with
a maximum validity of 5 years.
• A visa with limited territorial validity (limited to particular Member States) may
exceptionally be issued in cases where the applicant does not fulfil all the entry
conditions, on humanitarian grounds, for reasons of national interest, because of
international obligations, or in situations where other Schengen countries consulted
object to the issuing of a visa.
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area
Admissibility
After verifying whether the application is admissible (, the competent authority
must: create an entry in the Visa Information System (VIS)
Under amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1134, background checks on
applicants would be reinforced before a decision is taken on granting a visa.
Rules and procedures for searches in sensitive and non-sensitive EU
databases containing security and migration information are set out.
Once in effect, Member States would be required to collect biometric
identifiers of the applicant comprising a facial image and 10 fingerprints (for
storage in the VIS)
If the application is inadmissible, the authority would have to:
return the application form and supporting documents without having
examined them further;
destroy any biometric data collected; and reimburse the visa fee.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
Airport transit visas:
the applicant must present proof of the points of departure and destination,
coherence of the itinerary and proof of the onward journey to the final
destination.
Multiple-entry visas
Visa Code sets out rules on the issuing of multiple entry visas with a
progressively longer length of validity:
1 year, if the applicant has used three visas within the previous 2 years;
2 years, if the applicant has already used a 1-year multiple-entry visa within
the previous 2 years;
5 years, if the applicant has already used a 2-year multiple-entry visa within
the previous 3 years
Visas issued at the external borders
Exceptionally, a visa application for a maximum stay of 15 days, or to cover
the time needed for transit, may be applied for at the external border of the
Schengen country of destination.
Ángeles Cano Linares
Schengen Area
• On April 2016, the Commission adopted a revised legislative
proposal for Smart Borders.
• The revised legislative proposal for Smart Borders includes:
a Regulation for the establishment of an Entry/Exit System
and a proposed amendment to the Schengen Borders Code
to integrate the technical changes needed for the Entry/Exit
System

– REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILestablishing

an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal ofentry data of
third country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member Statesof the
European Union and determining the conditions for access to the EES for
lawenforcement purposes andamending Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 and Regulation
(EU) No 1077/2011

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Schengen Area
• The adoption of the new codification of the Schegen Border
Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, amended by

• REGULATION (EU) 2024/1717 OF THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 June
2024amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 on a Union Code
on the rules governing the movement of persons across
borders

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Schengen Area: External Borders Protection
EU and its member states have established concrete
measures to safeguard Europe's security and reinforce the
EU's external borders.

These includes,
the development of the Schengen Information System (SIS).
the creation of the European Border and Coast Guard
Agency (Frontex)

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Schengen Area: External Borders Protection
Schengen Information System

• The Schengen information system (SIS) was established to help maintain

internal security within the Schengen states in the absence of internal
border controls.
• It is a large-scale information system that enables police, migration,
judicial and other authorities to enter and consult alerts on missing
persons, on persons or objects related to criminal offences and on non-EU
nationals who are not allowed to enter or stay in the Schengen area.

• In this way the SIS is a cornerstone of law enforcement cooperation.

• At the same time, it contributes to a great extent to the protection of

the external Schengen border

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Schengen Area: External Borders Protection
Schengen Information System
• Authorities across the EU use the SIS to enter or consult
alerts about wanted or missing people and objects. The
system contains approximately 86.5 million alerts, and in 2022
authorities consulted it 35 million times a day.

• The SIS also provides instructions to authorities on how to

react when a person or object is found, such as:

– arresting a wanted person

– protecting a vulnerable missing person
– seizing an illegal or stolen object

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Schengen Area: External Borders Protection
Other IT tools that will help fight crime and secure borders are
being upgraded or are under development:

• Visa Information System (VIS)

• Entry/Exit System (EES)
• European Travel Information and Authorisation System
(ETIAS)

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• EU State authorities need to cooperate on border management to ensure
the security of citizens and travellers in the EU. A number of information
sharing mechanisms are central to this cooperation.
• The Visa Information System (VIS) allows Schengen States to exchange
visa data, in particular data on decisions relating to short-stay visa
applications.
• The Schengen Information System (SIS) allows Schengen States to
exchange data on suspected criminals, on people who may not have the
right to enter into or stay in the EU, on missing persons and on stolen,
misappropriated or lost property.
• VIS and SIS, as well as EURODAC are operated by the EU Agency for
large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA).
• It is also necessary to ensure the security of travel documents to fight
against the falsification and counterfeiting of travel documents and to
establish a reliable link between the document and its holder.

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Schengen Area

• Smart Borders: EU Entry/ Exit System

– The current system of manual stamping of passports would be
replaced by automation of certain preparatory border control
procedures.
– The system would be interconnected with the Visa Information System
(VIS) database and used by the same authorities: border control and
consular posts.
– Moreover, it would allow law enforcement authorities to perform
restricted queries in the database for criminal identification and
intelligence to prevent serious crime and terrorism.
– The two regulations were signed on 30 November 2017, and the
Entry/Exit System is due to become fully functional by 2020 at the
latest.

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Schengen Area

EU Entry/ Exit System EES:

• is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a
short stay, each time they cross the external borders of Schengen area
Members
-‘non-EU national’ means a traveller not holding the nationality of any
European Union country or the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or
Switzerland.
The system applies to you if you are a non-EU national and you:
- need a short-stay visa to travel to the European countries using the EES
- ordo not need a visa to travel for a short stay in the European countries
using the EES
- Your entries and exits, or entry refusals will be electronically registered
in the EES.
- In Cyprus and Ireland passports will still be stamped manually.

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Schengen Area
• European Travel Information and Authorisation System
(ETIAS)

– ETIAS travel authorisation is an entry requirement for visa-exempt

nationals travelling to any of Schengen countries. It is linked to a
traveller’s passport. It is valid for up to three years or until the passport
expires, whichever comes first. If you get a new passport, you need to
get a new ETIAS travel authorisation.

– With a valid ETIAS travel authorisation, you can enter the territory of
these European countries as often as you want for short-term stays -
normally for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. However, it does not
guarantee entry. When you arrive, a border guard will ask to see your
passport and other documents and verify that you meet the entry
conditions.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• Interoperability is focusing on the information systems for
security, border and migration management that are operated
at EU level
• six systems :
– the Schengen Information System (SIS) which contains a broad
spectrum of alerts on persons (refusals of entry or stay, EU arrest
warrants, missing persons, judicial procedure assistance, discreet
checks) and objects (including lost, stolen or invalidated identity or
travel documents);
– the Eurodac system with fingerprint data of asylum applicants and
of third-country nationals who have crossed the external borders
irregularly or who are irregularly staying in a Member State; and
– the Visa Information System (VIS) with data on short-stay visa
holders.

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Schengen Area
• interoperability Three systems that are still in preparation or
development:
– Entry/Exit System (EES), which has been adopted and will replace
the current system of manual stamping of passports and will
electronically register the name, type of travel document, biometrics
and the date and place of entry and exit of third-country nationals
visiting the Schengen area for a short stay;
– European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS),
which once adopted would be a largely automated system that would
gather and verify security-related information submitted by visa-free
third-country nationals ahead of their travel to the Schengen area; and
– European Criminal Records Information System for third-country
nationals (ECRIS-TCN system), which once adopted would be an
electronic system for exchanging information on previous convictions
handed down against third-country nationals by criminal courts in the
EU.
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Schengen Area
• Solidarity and cooperation

– All EU States have to make investments to protect their

external borders in the interest of the entire Schengen
Area. For some States, notably those situated at the
external frontiers of the Union, these investments can be
very high due to particular migratory pressures.
– The EU Internal Security Fund establishes solidarity
between the Schengen States by supporting those
countries with a heavy financial burden in implementing the
common standards on external border controls.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Schengen Area
• Operational cooperation between EU States is coordinated
by the European Agency for the Management of
Operational Cooperation at the External Borders
("FRONTEX").

• Frontex is agency for border control activities at the EU’s external

borders, sharing intelligence and expertise with all Member States and
with neighboring non-EU countries affected by migratory trends and cross-
border crime.

Ángeles Cano Linares

European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Frontex promotes, coordinates and develops European border

management in line with the EU fundamental rights Charter
applying the concept of Integrated Border Management
Towards Frontex
• Since 1999 the European Council on Justice and Home
Affairs has taken several steps towards strengthen
cooperation in the area of migration, asylum and security.
• In the border management field this led to the creation of
the External Border Practitioners Common Unit - a group
composed of members of the Strategic Committee on
Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA) and heads of
national border control services.
• The Common Unit coordinated national projects of Ad-Hoc
Centres on Border Control. Their task was to oversee EU-
wide pilot projects and common operations related to
border management.
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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Two years after the establishment of "ad-hoc" centres the European

Council decided to go a step further:

With the objective of improving procedures and working methods of the

Common Unit, on the 26 October 2004 the European
Agency for the Management of Operational
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member
States of the European Union (Frontex) was
established by Council Regulation (EC) 2007/2004

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Council Regulation (EC) 2007/2004 of 26 October 2004 led to the establishment of the
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External
Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex).
This Regulation was repealed by Regulation (EU) 2016/1624
of 14 September 2016, establishing Frontex, the European
Border and Coast Guard Agency. it has the same legal personality
and the same short name: Frontex.
• The latest amendment of the Frontex mandate occurred when the
Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of 13 November 2019 on the European Border
and Coast Guard
• The seat of Frontex is Warsaw, Poland, as established in Article 56 of the
European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, subject to the
requirements set out in Article 57 of that regulation.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

• Mission:
Together with the Member States, ensure safe and well-
functioning external borders providing security.
Frontex promotes, coordinates and develops European border management
in line with the EU fundamental rights Charter applying the concept of
Integrated Border Management.
– With the standing corps, the European Union’s first uniformed law enforcement
service, Frontex has transformed into an operational arm of the EU.
– Hundreds of officers are taking part in operations at the external borders of the
European Union and beyond.
– They perform a variety of tasks such as border surveillance, fighting cross-
border crime, and assisting in return operations. The officers stand together
with national authorities to safeguard the Schengen Area, one of Europe’s
greatest achievements.
– Assist EU States in managing migratory flows at their external borders.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Other relevant instruments

• Regulation (EU) No 1052/2013 establishing the European
Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR),
• “a common framework for the exchange of information and
for the cooperation between Member States and Frontex in
order to improve situational awareness and to increase
reaction capability at the external borders for the purpose of
detecting, preventing and combating illegal immigration and
cross-border crime and contributing to ensuring the protection
and saving the lives of migrants (‘EUROSUR)”.
• The Eurosur Regulation has been repealed and replaced by
Regulation (EU) 2019/1896, which carries revised provisions
on EUROSUR.
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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Other relevant instruments

Regulation (EU) 656/2014 establishing rules for the
surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of
operational cooperation coordinated by Frontex also
introduced changes to the mandate of the agency, namely in
terms of what concerns sea operations coordinated by Frontex.

This Regulation was fully integrated and referred to in

Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 and now in Regulation (EU)
2019/1896.
.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Mission: Together with the Member States, we ensure safe and well-
functioning external borders providing security.
How:
• Operations, provides support to EU and Schengen countries in managing the
EU’s external borders and tackling cross-border crime. Thanks to the standing
corps, Frontex is the home of the European Union’s first uniformed law
enforcement service. It is actively engaged in operations across the EU’s external
borders and beyond.
• Fighting Crime,
• Monitoring and risk analysis
• ETIAS
• Member States and Frontex together strive to further strengthen
cooperation with non-EU countries and to jointly address migration and
border security challenges.

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Ángeles Cano Linares
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Operations:
Frontex, provides support to EU and Schengen countries in managing the EU’s
external borders and tackling cross-border crime.
Frontex is European Union’s first uniformed law enforcement service.
It is actively engaged in operations across the EU’s external borders and beyond.
Whenever an EU Member State requests assistance at the external borders, the
standing corps officers, supported by vessels, aeroplanes and border surveillance
equipment, spring into action.
Their presence is not just limited to Europe’s sea and land borders, but also extend
to international airports.
Each operation is based on risk analysis and uniquely tailored to the circumstances
identified by Frontex in its risk analysis.
The agency is active outside the EU in countries that have signed a Status
Agreement with the European Commission. Frontex has operations in Moldova,
Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. There are also dozens of Frontex’s officers working
at EU and international airports.

Ángeles Cano Linares

Ángeles Cano Linares
Ángeles Cano Linares
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Fighting cross-border crime

Frontex collaborates closely with national authorities and EU agencies, including
Europol, to stop cross-border crime and make European Union safer and more
secure.

In its operations, Frontex targets not just migrant smuggling or trafficking in human
beings, but also other serious crimes that affect the security the EU and its people,
ranging from the smuggling of drug, firearms, stolen cars and counterfeit goods to
document fraud and environmental crime.

Many criminal networks engage in multiple criminal activities simultaneously, simply

adding migrant smuggling or trafficking in human beings to their portfolio of “services”.
Criminal gangs active in the field of migrant smuggling also collaborate with networks
involved in other types of serious and organised crime, such as the production and
provision of fraudulent documents, firearms trafficking, corruption and financial
crimes, especially money laundering. In some cases, the same routes and modi
operandi are used for migrant smuggling and trafficking of illegal goods.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Risk Analysis
• 24/7 monitoring of the situation on the border and beyond,
• comprehensive risk analysis,
• Also receives information from a wealth of sources, including national border guard
authorities.
– Maritime Aerial Surveillance (MAS) has become an integral part of r operations, and a
permanent service offered to national authorities. MAS uses surveillance airplanes and
drones that stream video and other data from EU and Schengen external borders directly
to headquarters in Warsaw and to national and European authorities, allowing for real-
time monitoring.
• to assess risks at the borders and then to reduce vulnerability to challenges and
support national authorities in their response.
• Risk analysis guides all Frontex activities, helping us decide where our human and
technical resources should be deployed.
• Frontex upports the Member States by providing remote command and control
capacity and crisis management support

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Frontex develops a etwork of partnerships with the competent authorities

of non-EU countries, particularly in countries neighbouring the EU, as well
as in countries of origin and transit for irregular migration, depending on
the agency’s cooperation priorities which are based on:

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Fronte International Cooperation Strategy

principles

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

ETIAS:
• As of mid-2025, people from more than 60 visa-free countries will need to get a
travel authorisation before coming to Europe for a brief stay.
• The authorisation will be processed through the European Travel Information and
Authorisation System (ETIAS).
• The entire ETIAS ecosystem is complex and consists of the ETIAS Central Unit
hosted by Frontex, ETIAS National Units located in 30 European countries, and the
large-scale information system developed and maintained by eu-LISA.
• The ETIAS system will check the information provided by the applicant with data
already stored in other EU systems such as the Schengen Information System
(SIS), Visa Information System (VIS) and Entry/Exit System (EES). If the
application raises any concerns, it will be reviewed by the ETIAS Central Unit and
sent to the relevant ETIAS National Unit for final decision.
• At the border: border guards will scan th ir travel document data electronically and
register them in the EES, triggering a query to ETIAS.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

• Return operations

• begins either with the adoption of a return decision, or a person’s

expression of willingness to return to their country of origin, and covers
different stages: pre-return, the actual return, and post-return.

• Each stage entails a number of different activities.

• Non voluntary return: NO FRONTEX

– Only the administrative or judicial authorities in the EU/Schengen zone countries have
the power to issue a return decision based on an individual assessment of each case.
the authorities in the EU/Schengen zone decide on possible appeals against a return
decision or the denied asylum requests.

– Upon receiving the decision, the person must return to their country of origin, a country
of transit, or another non-EU country, to which they voluntarily decide to return and which
is open to accept them.

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

• Return operations

During the pre-return phase, several key conditions for return have to be fulfilled,
in particular identification and proper travel documents. This always requires
cooperation from the countries of return and their diplomatic missions in the EU.

The return phase, meaning the travel itself, lasts until the person arrives at the
destination and, in case of non-voluntary return, when he or she is successfully
handed over to the authorities of the country of return. If the handover is rejected
by the authorities, this person is taken back to the EU/Schengen zone.

The Member State which issued the return decision may agree to provide the
person returned with post-arrival support, which means immediate help on arrival
and for the first few days right after (hotel, registration in the country of return,
onward transportation etc.). However, a long-term support, called reintegration
assistance, can also be provided to assist people to rebuild a life in the country of
return. It can include training, help with setting up a new business, etc. It is always
up to the Member State to decide, who can receive what kind of help, how much
help and for how long.
Ángeles Cano Linares
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Return Operations

Frontex provides operational and technical support to a requesting EU/Schengen

country within the different phases, through the coordination and implementation of
the return operation, to post-arrival support.

Frontex’s assistance to Member States in returns may also take form of long-term
and ad hoc deployments of standing corps officers with specific return profiles,
called Frontex Return Escort and Support Officers. They are deployed in key Member
States’ airports and other locations providing assistance on the ground. Their task
may be as well to escort non-EU nationals on board of flights in order to ensure
safety, security and wellbeing during the whole return operation, including transits.

The agency can only provide support:

upon formal request from a Member State, or
on its own initiative, but always with the agreement of the Member State(s) concerned;
to governmental authorities of EU Member States;
in relation to the return of non-EU citizens who do not enjoy the right to stay, legal
residence and/or international protection in the territory of an EU Member State.

Ángeles Cano Linares

European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Ángeles Cano Linares

European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Reintegration assistance

• support provided to migrants returned to their countries of origin. In

accordance with its mandate, defined in the legal basis

• Frontex supports EU MS and Schengen Associated Countries in providing

reintegration assistance both during the first days following the arrival in
the country of origin (post-arrival assistance), as well as longer-term
assistance up to 12 months (post-return assistance) to help third country
nationals reintegrate into their societies.

• Examples of assistance provided include support with accommodation,

medical assistance, job counselling, education, family reunification and
other.

• The legal basis for reintegration assistance is Article 48 (1) (a) (i) of Regulation
(EU) 2019/1896 on the European Border and Coast Guard

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European Border and Coast Guard Agency

• Frontex is accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council.

The Agency also answers to national border guard authorities whose
representatives are members of the Agency’s Management Board.

• The Management Board oversees the functioning of the Agency – it

establishes the budget and verifies its execution, ensures that transparent
decision-making procedures are in place and appoints the executive
management.

• An independent Fundamental Rights Officer reports directly to the

Management Board and cooperates with the Consultative Forum which
assists the Executive Director and the Management Board with
independent advice in fundamental rights matters.

Ángeles Cano Linares